The Olson's Asian Adventure

My first friend from Dallas Texas, Ernest Kwan married a girl from China about 5 years ago.   She is from Harbin and they first introduced the idea of a vacation to this crazy spot.   Harbin is near Russia and bitterly cold in the winter.   It is known for the Russian influence and actually has a higher concentration of Christians in that region for that reason.   It is a big place (>10mm people), but just about every place in China is.   It isn’t a tier 1 city (there are only four – Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou), but is probably considered a tier 2.   For 2 months each year this city hosts the most amazing ice and snow festival in the world.   We didn’t know it at first, but the US mega hotels (like the Gaylord in Dallas) actually contracts Harbin artists to build the sculptures in ice houses…   We told Jacob that this would be the best, worst experience of his life.   It would be bitterly cold and miserable...

This is uniquely Asia Pacific… And, China’s version is uniquely China. Every year each office celebrates the lunar new year (i.e. Chinese New Year in February) with an annual party.   In some cases this is just a simple dinner to celebrate, but in most cases, it is a big time production.     The big shows are a cross between the Gong Show, Charades, and America’s got Talent.   The show organizer will recruit 5-6 groups to perform some sort of act… signing, dancing, skits, you name it… people will do it, act like fools, and have a good time. Everyone does it with the right attitude…   Do your best, don’t worry about it being good, and support everyone who has the courage to try.   Its just fun. As the “big boss” (their name for me, not my name for me), I am expected to perform… I told them that I don’t have any talents and they insisted that I come up with something. I am great with kids and I can build a mean Excel Spreadsheet, but beyond...

Dallas was our final stop in the US for Christmas…  It was good.  Lots of conversations about what it’s like living in China, several political debates, and a lot of cousin fun.  It is a blessing to have so many cousins and even more so that they all seem to get along.  They are always excited to see each other and the days just aren’t long enough for them. We didn’t get to the ranch this time which was disappointing, but I guess we will save that for the summer time.  We did spend quite a bit of time outside playing football, nerf war, and flying Jacob’s new drone.  We got pretty good at the drone until the wind picked up and whisked it away.  This led to a 7 person search party and a very happy reunion… Quite honestly, it is amazing that we found it.  It flew nearly a mile away, but the streaming video narrowed the search and gave us a good clue.  It was a very full house…  With 5 Skeenas, 5 Olsons, and 2 grandparents living ...